Trump questions whether 'lesser' crimes such as domestic violence should count toward DC crime statistics
While President Donald Trump touted the success of his crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., on Monday, he suggested that he believed that the "lesser" crime of domestic violence should not be counted in crime statistics.
During an event at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Monday, Trump touted that Washington was a "safe-zone" city after he ordered a surge of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops into the city to respond to a crime emergency.
"It's called the safe-zone city. There's no crime, they said crime is down 87%. I said no, no, no, it's more than 87%. [It's] virtually nothing," Trump said.
During remarks, Trump said that crime statistics would be lower if "lesser" crimes such as domestic violence were not counted.
"And much lesser things, things that take place in the home, they call crime. You know, they'll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say 'this was a crime, see,' so now I can't claim 100%," Trump said.
"But we are -- we are a safe city," Trump added.
An ABC News reporter in the room during the remarks said that the comments elicited some laughs from the crowd.
